Pepper Spray Villain’s Compensation Exceeds Occupiers’

Posted on Oct 24, 2013

The UC Davis cop who pepper-sprayed at close range a group of students protesting peacefully as part of the Occupy movement was awarded $38,000 for his experience in the aftermath of the altercation, more than those he brutalized got.

Officer John Pike, who was eventually fired, was compensated for “psychiatric injuries” he received after the event, The Atlantic Wire reported. The backlash from the public involved “10,000 text messages, 17,000 emails and ‘numerous items being ordered delivered to his home,’ ” according to AllGov.com. Hackers posted his information online and he also received death threats. Pike said he suffered depression and anxiety over the way he was treated.

Pike, who walked up to a group of sitting, passive students and pepper sprayed their faces, will get a comparable compensation from the university to that awarded to the students he targeted. UC Davis has also settled with the students actually targeted by Pike’s pepper spray, agreeing to pay out $1 million total to 21 plaintiffs. That breaks down to a bit less per student than Pike himself will get: $30,000 per plaintiff, plus a $250,000 sum for their lawyers to split and a handful of other delegated portions of the award. The university also formally apologized as part of the settlement. Pike’s settlement includes $5,700 in legal fees for his lawyer in the case.